Survival suit



Nov. 10, 1959 P. RUELLE ETAL SURVIVAL SUIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28, 1956 Patrick E Rue/le Richard A. Rue/la v INVENTORS,

Nov. 10, 1959 P. F. RUELLE ETAL 2,911,649

SURVIVAL SUIT Filed Aug. 28, 1956 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patrick E Rue/la 7 Richard A. Rue/la INVENTORS,

United States Patent() SURVIVAL SUIT Patrick F. Ruelle, Royal Oak, and Richard A. Ruelle, Ferndale, Mich.

Application August 28, 1956, Serial No. 606,633

1 Claim. (Cl. 269.5)

An object of the present invention is to provide an enlarged garment in the form of a protective garment including a waterproof member which covers substantially the entire body for protection from water and also for maintaining warmth but yet which may be easily folded up and carried like a knapsack which is very light in construction thus adding very little to the weight of material carried by various outdoorsmen such as hunters or the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a protective garment which may be properly termed as a survival suit since it isadapted for various uses to which its waterproof qualities, warmth qualities and inflatable pocket will readily lend itself.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease of utility, adaptation for its many and varied purposes and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the survival suit of the present invention being employed by a hunter;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view from the rear illustrating the details of the device;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the garment in use in the water;

Figure 4 is a rear perspective view illustrating the device in folded condition and strapped into position in the form of a knapsack;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of Figure 1 illustrating the details of construction of the pockets attached to the lower end of the main body panel;

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 6-6 of Figure 1 illustrating the fastening means for the garment and the connection between the various plies of the garment; and

Figure 7 is an exploded group perspective view illustrating the detachable connection between the intermediate layer and the outer layers or plies of the garment.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the survival suit of the present invention which incorporates the main body panel generally designated by the numeral 12. This main body panel incorporates three layers including an inner ply 14, an intermediate ply 16 and an outer ply 18. The inner and outer plies 14 and 18 may be constructed of waterproof material such as plastic or the like and the intermediate ply 16 may be constructed of a warmth providing material such as wool or kapok.

The upper end of the main body 12 is provided with an integral hood generally designated by the numeral 20 which is continuous with the main body 12 and is joined thereto by shoulder engaging portions having an arm receiving sleeve 22 extending outwardly therefrom which terminates in a natural rubber or elasticized knitted portion 24 for gripping around the wrist of the wearer rather tightly for preventing entry of cold air or water into the sleeve 22.

At the bottom front of the main body 12 is a plurality of pockets 26 which are in the form of patch pockets secured to the body 12 by stitching 28. As illustrated in Figure 5, the patch pockets 26 are disposed on both the inner and outer layers or plies 14 and 18 and the pockets are of varying sizes for carrying various articles which may be employed by a huntsman such as a knife 32 or the like. Matches, articles of food and many other articles may be transported in the pockets 26 wherein such articles are readily accessible when the garment 10 is being employed.

Extending downwardly in front of the chest of the wearer and upwardly and around and behind the neck is an inflatable compartment 34 having a mouth tube 36 connected thereto and normally held under a strap 38- the garment 10. is a pair of spaced detachable strap members 40 with one set of strap members 40 having buckles 42 thereon and the other set having spaced apertures 44 for acting as shoulder straps when the garment 10 is in folded condition as illustrated in Figure 4. In this condition, the garment 10 is folded with the pockets 26 being disposed rearwardly and tied in this condition by a tie string 46. The straps 40 are then disposed in shoulder encircling relation and buckled forwardly of the shoulder 48 wherein the device is in the normal position of a knapsack with the various articles such as the knife 32 being in position for ready acquisition by the wearer of the garment.

The hood 20 is provided with a forwardly disposed opening 50 for revealing the face 52 of the wearer so that the wearer may observe the area immediately surrounding him and an entrance slit 54 is provided in downwardly extending relation from the lower edge of the opening 50 to permit access into the interior of the garment 10 for placing the garment on and removing the same. To facilitate the closure of the entrance slit 54, an elongated zipper-type fastener 56 is provided which includes zipper tapes 58 stitched to the intermediate panel edges by stitching 60 thus securing the edges of the intermediate panel together. The zipper tape 58 is provided with oppositely extending male snap fastener elements 62 for engagement with matching female snap fastener elements 64 on the respective inner and outer panels 14 and 18 for detachably mounting the inner and outer panels or plies 14 and 18 to the intermediate ply 16. Each of the inner and outer plies 14 and 18 is provided with an overlapping flap 66 for overlapping the zipper construction 56 and forming a waterproof joint therefor. This will permit interchanging or removing of the inner and outer plies for any purpose desired. Also, the inner and outer plies 14 and 18 may be of different colors whereby the coloring of the garment may be changed by merely turning the garment inside out.

The protective garment or survival suit is comprised of the inner and outer Waterproof or water resistant members or plies shaped to form a sleepingbag between which is a bag of the warmth providing material 16. Closing of the zipper closes all three covers up to the hunters neck with only the face exposed. It is pointed out that the hood may be thrown back so that the entire head above the neck may be exposed.

The arms 22 sewn into the plies taper toward the wrist and give the hunter complete freedom of arm movement for handling his rifle or shotgun designated by the numeral 70 and at the same time prevents cold air from blowing up the sleeve into the bag. The hunter climbs into the garment, slips his arms through the arms and zips up the covers to his chin and with trigger finger mittens protecting his hands is set for hours of comfortable still hunting regardless of the weather conditions. It is intended that one of the waterproof plies be red color for use by deer hunters while the other waterproof ply may be of a camouflage green and brown pattern for use by bow and arrow hunters and duck hunters. Fishermen and pleasure boat owners may store the waterproof covers in their boats for overall protection in case of a sudden rain, storm, squall or rough water. In this connection, the inflatable compartment provides a safety device in the form of a life jacket in the event the boat of the fisherman may become disabled.

The pockets 26 may be employed for carrying various devices such as a knife, hatchet, field glasses, Thermos bottle, stove, emergency rations, etc. When the device is stored and carried like a knapsack, the hunters hands are entirely free and the device is out of the way when the hunter passes through heavy brush. Most hunters desire to alternate stalking with still hunting and if he dresses lightly enough for stalking he usually becomes very cold while sitting still. If the hunter dresses warmly for still hunting, he will become uncomfortably warm while walking during stalking thus causing perspiration with the evaporation thereof chilling his body, Thus, the present invention solves both problems since it may be easily assembled and removed and provides adequate protection at all times. Of course, warmth may be employed by using additional warmth providing covers or a hand warmer may be dropped into the bottom of the bag with the warmth thereof being adjusted by moving the zipper up and down.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those 4 skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A garment of unztary lightweight construction for use by outdoorsmen during periods of inactivity for protection during periods of bad weather, said garment comprising an elongated tubular body member of flexible material generally cylindrical in shape with generally a flat bottom thereby providing an unobstructed interior throughout the length of the garment, the lower end of said body member being closed, the upper end of said body member having an integral hood with a face opening in the front thereof, said body member having an elongated entrance slit extending downwardly from the lower edge of the face opening, fastening means for releasably closing said entrance slit, said body member having shoulder engaging portions forming an area of transition to the hood, and arm receiving sleeves extending outwardly from the outer edges of the shoulder engaging portions, said garment being constructed from flexible waterproof material for protecting substantially the entire body of a person wearing the device and for permitting the garment to be folded into compact condition for ease of carrying during periods of activity, said waterproof material being constructed of a plurality of plies of material, the inner and outer plies being waterproof and the intermediate ply being insulative, said fastening means including a slide fastener attached to the intermediate ply, the inner and outer plies being detachably secured to the intermediate ply.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

